Tioga County, Pennsylvania Eviction Risk: Moderate

Tioga County scores 4/10 (Low risk) on the eviction-risk scale, placing it at rank 60 of 67 counties in Pennsylvania eviction laws, meaning 59 counties carry higher risk and only 7 are more landlord-friendly. For investors sizing up a rural northern Pennsylvania eviction laws market, that standing translates to a genuinely low-friction operating environment: average rent of $870, a renter share of 33.8%, and an average rent burden of 30% suggest a stable, if modest, tenant base. The county's total population across the 14 tracked cities comes to roughly 14,973, so this is small-market territory where individual properties carry outsized weight in any portfolio.

The intra-county spread of 2.6 to 4.1 is wide enough to matter. A landlord operating in the lower-scoring pockets of the county will face meaningfully different conditions than one concentrated in the higher-scoring boroughs, so block-level due diligence remains important even within a low-average county.

The cities inside Tioga County

The two highest-risk cities are Blossburg (4.1/10, population 1,739) and Elkland (4.1/10, population 1,588), each sitting at the county maximum and reflecting local conditions that push eviction risk above the county norm. Lawrenceville follows at 4/10 (population 707), and Mansfield and Knoxville each score 3.7/10. These five communities represent the portion of the county where tenant-side pressures are most concentrated, and landlords there should model for slower or more contested eviction scenarios.

At the other end, Wellsboro (population 3,437) and Westfield (population 1,189) both score a flat 3/10, the county minimum, pointing to calmer operating conditions. The county seat of Wellsboro, as the largest city in the county at 3,437 residents, tends to attract more stable, longer-term tenants. The range from 3/10 to 4.1/10 confirms that risk in Tioga County is hyper-local: two boroughs a few miles apart can sit at opposite ends of the county spread.

State-level laws that apply here

Pennsylvania eviction laws state law governs all landlord-tenant relationships in Tioga County under 68 P.S. § 250.101 et seq. (Landlord and Tenant Act of 1951). For nonpayment of rent, the required notice period is 10 days under 68 P.S. § 250.501(b). Material-breach notices run 15 days for tenancies under one year and 30 days for tenancies of one year or more under 68 P.S. § 250.501(a). End-of-lease-term terminations carry no statutory notice requirement under 68 P.S. § 250.501(c). The Pennsylvania eviction laws eviction process, from notice through writ of possession, takes 30 to 60 days on an uncontested filing and 60 to 150 days if contested. Court filing fees run $130 to $250, sheriff lockout fees add $50 to $150, and attorney fees typically range $500 to $3,000, so total Pennsylvania eviction costs can reach into the thousands even on a straightforward case.

Pennsylvania eviction laws does not require just cause for eviction and the state preempts local rent-control ordinances, so no Tioga County municipality may impose a rent cap. Landlords should also familiarize themselves with Pennsylvania security deposit limits and Pennsylvania tenant protections under the same statute, both of which apply uniformly across the county regardless of which borough a property sits in.

With a poverty rate of 15.6% and roughly one in three residents renting, the financial margin for many Tioga County tenants is thin; reviewing the city-by-city grid above before committing to a specific borough will give investors the clearest picture of where that risk concentrates.